PARKSLEY, VA / SALISBURY, MD - A federal probe has been launched into both Tyson Foods and Perdue Farms following a New York Times Magazine report of migrant kids working nightshifts for contractors at the companies’ facilities in Accomack County.
“There are currently U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division Investigations open at Perdue and Tyson Foods,” the Department of Labor confirmed to WBOC Wednesday. “No additional details can be provided as the investigations are ongoing.”
A central focus of the New York Times Magazine account, published last week, is a Parksley boy from Guatemala who says he was seriously injured cleaning a conveyor belt at a nearby Perdue slaughterhouse when he was 14. The boy’s injuries were severe enough to require surgeries in Baltimore, according to the New York Times Magazine article.
The Times story goes on to detail migrant children, from Central America and Mexico, using acid and pressure hoses to clean blood, grease, and feathers from equipment at the facility. The article claims that some of the children who worked at the facilities were students at Arcadia High School.
“We take the legal employment and safety of each individual working in our facilities very seriously and have strict, longstanding policies in place for Perdue associates to prevent minors from working hazardous jobs in violation of the law," a Perdue spokesperson told WBOC in an email. "We hold our suppliers to the same high standards, and we were appalled by these recent allegations. We are conducting a comprehensive third-party audit of child labor prevention and protection procedures including a compliance audit of contractors. We will take appropriate actions based on the findings of that investigation."
In an email to CBS yesterday, a Tyson spokesperson said, "Tyson Foods has not been made aware of any investigation, and therefore, cannot comment.”
The Labor Department is also investigating the contractors who supply the cleaning crews - Fayette Industrial for Perdue, and Vincit Group for Tyson.
Fayette said in a statement to CBS that it is committed to keeping worksites “safe and free from child labor.” Additional safeguards were implemented last year “to prevent unauthorized clock-ins,” the company said in an email.
The Times report says food and safety inspectors from the U.S. Department of Agriculture routinely came across children at the Accomack County plants.
The agency just this month began retraining frontline workers to report child workers to the Labor Department. USDA inspectors do not have law enforcement capabilities.
The Labor Department recently found that nearly 4,500 children across the county were working jobs too dangerous for minors. That number is a 44% jump from the previous year, according to the Labor Department.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.